Financial services giant Mastercard have announced that they have successfully won a patent that covers the management of cryptocurrencies and transactions. At present, Mastercard only deals in government-approved legal tender, but this patent paves the way for the storage and transfer of crypto in the future – termed as “fractional reserves” in the wording. The patent clarifies:

A method for managing fractional reserves of blockchain currency includes: storing, in a first central account, a fiat amount associated with a fiat currency; storing, in a second central account, a blockchain amount associated with a blockchain currency; storing a plurality of account profiles, each profile including a fiat currency amount, blockchain currency amount, account identifier, and address.

The patent goes on to outline the current state of the blockchain world – “In recent times, blockchain currencies have seen increased usage over traditional fiat currencies by consumers who value anonymity and security… Such an aspect of blockchain transactions may be highly desirable for consumers that wish to maintain their privacy, and may help reduce the likelihood of fraud due to theft of their information.”

However, the document also outlines issues with transaction times and with security in its current state. It may well be that Mastercard are gearing up for allowing credit card transactions as a way of speeding up processing times, although that much is not currently clear. Indeed, the senior VP for communications at Mastercard, Seth Eisen, told CNBC:

We’re consistently looking at ways to bring new thinking and new innovations to market to create value for us and our customers and cardholders. Patent applications are part of that process, taking steps to protect the company’s intellectual property, whether or not the idea ever comes to market.

We’ll keep you updated with any developments with regards to this patent, right here at Bitrazzi – so keep checking back.